IN BRIEF

The NCAA is interested in Ohio State quarterback Terrelle Pryor’s cars. The state of Ohio says he shouldn’t be driving one.

Pryor was seen driving a sports car to a team meeting Monday hours after coach Jim Tressel’s resignation, even though his Ohio driving privileges have been suspended.

Pryor’s driving privileges have been suspended for 90 days because he failed to produce proof of insurance when he was pulled over for a stop-sign violation Feb. 19 in Columbus. Pryor received repeated requests to appear in traffic court to show that he had valid insurance. He paid a $141 fine and court costs April 2, but Ohio authorities said he never produced proof of insurance.

Pryor is being investigated by the NCAA for the cars he has driven during his three years as a Buckeye. The NCAA is also looking into more than 50 vehicle transactions involving Ohio State athletes.

Also: Ohio State president Gordon Gee said he expects university athletic director Gene Smith to stay on despite Tressel’s resignation and a growing number of alleged NCAA violations by the football program.

Steve Spurrier has a plan to pay football players — and it wouldn’t cost schools or conferences a dime.

South Carolina’s coach offered an interesting yet far-from-feasible proposal that would give 70 players a $300 stipend every game.

Spurrier said that the plan probably won’t get far, but it could open the door for future dialogue.

Stung by allegations of mismanagement and corruption, Sepp Blatter held onto his spot as the leader of world soccer, winning a one-man election Wednesday derided as a “coronation.”

Blatter, 75, won a fourth four-year term as head of FIFA, soccer’s governing body, by receiving 186 of 203 votes in an election in which he had no opposition. His sole challenger, Qatari executive committee member Mohamed bin Hammam, withdrew from the race last weekend amid bribery allegations.

The election capped a period of several months in which FIFA has been buffeted by corruption allegations, bid scandals, internal infighting and match-fixing cases that have scarred the credibility of the organization.

miscellaneous

Anti-doping lab chief told feds of ‘suspicious’ Armstrong test

The director of the Swiss anti-doping laboratory informed federal authorities last fall that Lance Armstrong’s test results from the 2001 Tour de Suisse were “suspicious” and “consistent with EPO use.”

Martial Saugy made the statement in September, according to an anonymous source.

The revelation came to light as attorneys for Armstrong demanded an on-air apology from CBS’ “60 Minutes” after Saugy told a Swiss newspaper that the lab found suspicious levels of EPO, a blood-boosting drug, in four urine samples from the race Armstrong won. But Saugy said he didn’t know if any belonged to the seven-time Tour de France winner.

That was contrary to what he said in his statement made to officials from the FBI, the Food and Drug Administration and anti-doping authorities.

Also: A lawyer for Manny Pacquiao said the boxer has settled a defamation lawsuit against other boxing figures who intimated he used performance-enhancing drugs.

Attorney Daniel Petrocelli said in a release that Pacquiao settled with former boxer Oscar De La Hoya and Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions on confidential terms.

Pacquiao’s boxing rival, Floyd Mayweather Jr., and Mayweather’s father and uncle also were named in the defamation suit, but Petrocelli said they aren’t included in the settlement.

Commissioner Gary Bettman said he thinks the NHL will adopt a more balanced schedule when the relocated Winnipeg franchise most likely moves to the Western Conference in 2012.

In his annual state-of-the-league address before the Stanley Cup Finals opener in Vancouver, British Columbia, Bettman also said he thinks the NHL will begin issuing harsher suspensions for rough play.

Georges St. Pierre will defend his Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight title against Strikeforce champion Nick Diaz at UFC 137 on Oct. 29 at Mandalay Bay.

Louisiana State’s John Peterson shot a course-record 7-under-par 65 to take the individual lead in the NCAA men’s golf championships in Stillwater, Okla. Georgia Tech topped the team standings.